16 - The Queen of Cartaffs 卡塔夫斯N王

As I walked through the streets of Cartaffs, Bahnseim, Aumsaas, Beim… I noticed the difference it had to the places I’d been.

当我走过卡塔夫斯、巴恩塞姆、奥姆萨斯、贝姆......的街道时，我注意到了它与我去过的地方的不同之处。

I hadn’t felt it in Zayin or Lorphys either. Cartaffs’ characteristic air.

我在扎因和洛菲斯也没有感受到。卡塔夫斯特有的气息。

The orderly townscape was the same, but the buildings looked much too practical. On top of that, the patrolling soldiers walking around.

井然有序的市容是一样的，但建筑物看起来太实用了。除此之外，还有走来走去的巡逻士兵。

The uniforms they wore were unified, and I couldn’t see any knights.

他们穿着统一的制服，我看不到任何骑士。

The first one to notice it was the Seventh.

最先注意到这一点的是七号。

『… I heard Cartaffs gathered its personnel regardless of class. I see, so they’re thoroughly ability-centered.』

『......听说卡塔夫斯是不分阶级地召集人员的。原来如此，他们完全以能力为中心啊。』

They did have a nobility system, for what it’s worth, but that wasn’t everything. I think it’s a good thing they recognize talent regardless of social status.

他们确实有贵族制度，但这并不是全部。我认为他们不分社会地位，承认人才是件好事。

But carrying out something like that would generate considerable opposition.

但这样做会引起相当大的反对。

So I must assume Cartaffs’ leader has at least enough ability to subdue them. Or perhaps they had to learn to do so, or else.

所以我必须假设卡塔夫斯的首领至少有足够的能力制服他们。或者，他们必须学会这样做，否则的话。

The Third lay out his own thoughts.

三世阐述了自己的想法。

而我们在卡塔夫斯工作的同时，也在探索这个小镇，直到时机成熟。除了熟悉我们的向导，我们还安排了今天的计划。

伊娃看着推车和摊位。

诺维姆和米兰达在这方面也很擅长，但伊娃无论在哪个城镇都能轻易收集到信息，她肯定是个难以捉摸的存在。

周围的小吃摊鳞次栉比，稀罕的吃食一字排开。

Hearing that, I tilted my head, and after Eva looked around, and confirmed there were no soldiers around, she spoke.

The Fifth offered some admiration to Eva.

『Bahnseim to the south… Cartaffs is also a large country, but their national powers are too far apart. As this country can’t even cooperate with its surroundings, it’s thinkable it’s been refined by the threat of Bahnseim. But they’ve become this practical, have they… well, it may just be their character.』

这种观点的力量也一定是卡塔夫斯的特点。

听到这里，我歪了歪头，伊娃环顾四周，确认周围没有士兵后，她开口了。

So talented ones were respected, and the rest despised.

说到收集信息，即使在党内，伊娃也是个高手。她有自己的信息网络，可以轻易掌握我们其他人无法接触到的信息。

The Nihil Tribe… it was a tribe that held meaning to the elves.

五世对伊娃有些钦佩。

『巴恩塞姆在北方......如果我们能在莱利行动时让他们帮忙就好了。』

『You just don’t get it, Lyle. It’s best you don’t look at nothing but the good side of ability-centric government. To everything, there are merits, and demerits to be found.』

伊娃环顾四周。

“It seems sweets are precious here. Come to think of it, the ship had some sugar loaded as well. The sailors were delighted when they found it was undamaged.”

Character, or a geographic reason, whatever the case, there wasn’t a doubt it was a strong nation.

There were food stalls lined around, with line ups of rare edibles.

“It’s quite cold here. I should’ve brought a coat… even so, when you see demi-humans walking around so normally, it makes one think it’s a good country.”

『Bahnseim’s north… it would be nice if we can get them to help out when Llye makes his move.』

『But you would never think Cartaffs’ Queen was the Queen Eva-chan had sung of.』

我也是这么想的，但现在的我还不够重要，如果我请求援助，卡塔夫斯不会把我当回事。更何况，作为他们如此痛恨的国家的贵族......』

“Doesn’t that mean they’re truly appointing anyone skilled irrelevant to status? It’s a good country, isn’t it?”

Even taking an elf like her around, the surrounding reactions were normal. A change from Bahnseim, Arumsaas or Beim, where at times, you could find some prejudice.

『Still, having brethren elves everywhere sure is convenient for gathering information. What’s more, just saying 【Nihil】 gets a different reaction. A relatively favorable one at that.』

五爷看着这个小镇。

我看着走在我身边的伊娃。

我还想了解一下在地形上应该注意些什么。

"这里很冷。我应该带件外套的......即便如此，当你看到半人族如此正常地走来走去，还是会让人觉得这是一个好国家。"

性格，还是地理原因，不管怎样，毫无疑问，这是一个强大的国家。

于是，有才能的人受到尊重，剩下的人受到轻视。

虚无部落......那是一个对精灵来说意义非凡的部落。

『南边的巴亨西姆......卡塔夫斯也是一个大国，但他们的国力相差太远。由于这个国家甚至无法与周边国家合作，可以认为它是在巴恩西姆的威胁下被完善的。但他们已经变得如此实际了，难道......嗯，这可能只是他们的性格。』

『但你绝对想不到卡塔夫斯的王后就是伊娃唱过的王后。』

I questioned her use of, ‘makes one think’. So I tried asking.

船上装载的大量货物都很安全，维拉松了一口气。国家正在与贝姆交易其不足的商品。

第四。

我对她使用 "让人觉得 "一词表示质疑。于是我试着问道

I also wanted to learn what to look out for on the terrain.

And as we were working in Cartaffs, we were exploring the town until the time came. On top of getting acquainted with our guides, we were scheduled to set up our plans today.

『不过，到处都有精灵兄弟，收集情报确实很方便。而且，只要说一句【虚无】，就会得到不同的反应。而且是相对有利的反应。』

Eva looked at the carts and booths.

When we walked down the street together, perhaps it was a relatively large town, as there were a lot of people around.

The Fifth looked at the town.

I thought the same, but the current me wasn’t significant enough for Cartaffs to take me seriously if I asked for assistance. What’s more, as a noble of the country they hate so…

“Look at it the other way, and useless people and demi-humans are looked upon coldly. The reason the Guild receptionist tried so hard to stay out of your way surely because you’re a skilled one. I tried asking a few of my brethren, but apparently the gap in treatment is a large one. It may be better than a class system, but it feels there’s no room to breathe.”

The Fourth.

"他们的肉类种类相当多。不过我感觉糖果之类的东西比较少。"

“They have quite a variety of meat. I do get the feeling sweets and the like are scarce, though.”

即使把她这样的精灵带在身边，周围人的反应也很正常。这与巴恩塞姆、阿鲁姆萨斯或贝姆不同，在那里，有时你会发现一些偏见。

When it came to gathering information, even within the party, Eva was a skilled one. She had her own information network, and she could easily lay hands on info the rest of us wouldn’t be able to touch.

"反过来看，没用的人和半人族都会受到冷眼。公会接待员之所以这么努力地不妨碍你，肯定是因为你是个有技术的人。我试着问了几个兄弟，但显然待遇差距很大。这也许比阶级制度好一些，但感觉没有喘息的余地。"

当我们一起走在街上时，也许这是一个比较大的小镇，因为周围有很多人。

There, the Fourth explained it to me.

"那不就是说，他们真的会任用任何与地位无关的技术人员吗？这是个好国家，不是吗？"

『你就是不明白，莱尔。你最好不要只看到以能力为中心的政府好的一面。任何事物都有优点和缺点。』

"看来糖果在这里很珍贵。想起来了，船上也装了一些糖。当水手们发现这些糖毫发无损时，他们可高兴了。"

Eva looked around her.

The large load of cargo loaded on the ship was safe, and Vera was relieved. The country was trading for its insufficient commodities with Beim.

在那里，四爷给我解释了。

The strength of that outlook must also be Cartaffs’ characteristic.

I looked at Eva walking beside me.

Novem and Miranda were also good at it, but as Eva was easily able to collect info in whatever town we stopped by, she was surely a hard-to-get existence.

And once that was over, we would finish up our preparations, an set out.

一旦结束，我们将完成准备工作，然后出发。

“… It’s right about time. Shall we head for the guild?”

"......时间差不多了。我们去公会吧？"

Saying that, the two of us set off for the guild, but hearing some rowdy voices, I turned in that direction. Eva was watching as well.

说着，我们俩就向公会出发了，但我听到了一些吵闹的声音，就转过身朝那个方向看去。伊娃也在一旁看着。

The surrounding people were walking around a group of feuding adventurers. There were some rubberneckers, but most went right on with their business.

周围的人正围着一群结仇的冒险者走来走去。虽然有一些橡皮人，但大多数人都在做自己的事。

“Could it be a fight? Looks like it’s between adventurers.”

"会不会是打起来了？好像是冒险者之间的事。"

Eva was curious. Thinking of things as seeds for stories, showing such interest in these sorts of things was her virtue, as well as her flaw.

伊娃很好奇。把事物当作故事的种子，对这类事物表现出浓厚的兴趣，这是她的优点，也是她的缺点。

From what I could see, some middle-aged adventurers were surrounding a party of younger ones.

在我看来，一些中年冒险者正围着一队年轻冒险者。

Looking at them…

看着他们......

“They’re the same as us.”

"他们和我们一样。"

The young adventurer party with an extreme inclination in gender ration was surrounded by an elder party of five.

在性别配比上有极端倾向的年轻冒险者队伍被一个年长的五人队伍团团围住。

0;It reacts to women… is it influencing their psyche?1;

如果他只是个懵懂无知的孩子，他一定会被嘲笑，然后就完了。但他散发出的气场，让人觉得他真的可以做到。

“… Then let’s go.”

伊娃扯了扯我的袖子，指了指四周。

“Lyle, look around. The ones who’ve stopped are almost all women.”

Perhaps irritated by the woman’s words, the young adventurer clicked his tongue at us. As the elder adventurers remained wary, they parted from the crowd.

The garments they wore had a sense of cleanliness, but their appearances were gaudy. Pierces and necklaces, they also had rings.

Around us, there were woman staring as if to bite into the young adventurer. There were woman who were different as well, but I couldn’t easily tell them apart.

When I looked at the adventurer, wondering if it were a matter of looks, the Fourth spoke.

The longsword on the man’s back alone was splendid enough to put it at odds with his other clothes. His age was perhaps a little over mine?

“Lyle, you’ve been seen.”

As Eva looked between me, and the young adventurer party, the bystanders that didn’t want to get involved opened up a path between us.

但他们确实有一种气场。

"拉克大人，你可千万别把自己卷进去。那两个人......很了不起。和这里的冒险家完全不一样。"

“Larc-sama, you mustn’t involve yourself. Those two… are remarkable. Nothing like the adventurers you’d find in these parts.”

"啊？你是谁？哦，你身边有个小可爱。嘿，她有用吗？"

“Hand off the guide role? Are you sure you ain’t an idiot!?”

“I heard it. You’re guiding a party that defeated a Trident Serpent, aren’t you? Ans it seems they’ve got some pretty ladies with them. I’d like to try and meet them too. And unlike you small fries who needed to call adventurers from Beim to defeat something like a Land Dragon, I’ll go and take it out while I’m out guiding.”

But they did have an air to them.

当伊娃看着我和年轻的冒险者一行人时，不想卷入其中的旁观者在我们之间开辟了一条道路。

0;I guess he looks cool?1;

One of the women following behind the man looked at me. It seems she noticed I had done something.

『无论你走到哪里，你都会发现那些不讲道理的强者。他们忠实于自己的欲望，不考虑给周围环境带来的麻烦。』

The elder adventurer shot back at the young one.

当我看着那个冒险者，不知道是不是长相的问题时，四世说话了。

年长的男性冒险者与年轻人对峙着。与年长冒险者一行人井然有序的装备相比，年轻冒险者的装备看起来并不可靠。

灰色的头发，绿色的眼睛......他身材高大，身体训练有素。

I used Skills to try obtaining information on him. There, I was able to see the young adventurer was using some sort of Skill.

From the Jewel, the Third let his voice.

"把向导的角色让出来？你确定你不是白痴！"

（我猜他看起来很酷吧？）

But it seems the one at fault was…

但似乎犯错的是......

仅男子背上的长剑就足够华丽，与他的其他服饰格格不入。他的年龄也许比我大一点？

从宝石中，三世发出了自己的声音。

我们的目光相遇了，那个女人拉了拉冒险者的胳膊，然后指了指我。

他们穿的衣服很干净，但外表却很华丽。穿孔和项链，他们还有戒指。

『… You’ll find unreasonably strong people wherever you go. Faithful to their desires, the type that doesn’t think of the trouble they’re causing to their surroundings.』

"......那我们走吧。"

『感觉有点不对劲。还有......莱尔，去看看他。』

『Something feels off. And… Lyle, go look into him.』

“And I’m askin’ if you’re an idiot. This ‘s an official request from the Guild. If you’re complaining to someone, complain to the Guild.”

跟在那个男人身后的一名女性看着我。看来她注意到了我做了些什么。

The elder male adventurer confronted the young man. In contrast to the elder adventurer party’s orderly equipment, the young adventurers’ gear looked unreliable.

They were strangely calm, and it didn’t look as if an oblivious one was trying to pick a fight. Eva had noticed as well, as she quietly watched over them.

"莱尔，看看周围。停下来的几乎都是女人。"

他们异常冷静，看起来并不像一个忘乎所以的人在挑衅。伊娃也注意到了，她静静地注视着他们。

“Now that you mention it.”

"莱尔，你被看见了。"

"我听说了。你带领的队伍打败了三叉戟巨蛇，是吗？看来他们还带了几位漂亮的女士。我也想见见她们。而且，我可不像你们这些小角色，需要从贝姆召集冒险者才能打败陆地龙这种东西，我会在外出做向导的时候去干掉它的。"

我使用技能试图获取他的信息。在那里，我看到这位年轻的冒险者正在使用某种技能。

"既然你提到了。"

Our eyes met, and the woman pulled at the adventurer’s arm, and pointed at me.

“Ah? Who are you? Oh, you’ve got quite a cutie with you. Hey, is she any use?”

年长的冒险者回击了年轻的冒险者。

Eva tugged at my sleeve, and pointed around.

On the words of the young man pointing at Eva, the woman who noticed me nodded. And she even gave him a warning.

If he was just an oblivious kid, he’s be mocked, and that would be the end of it. But the air he gave off made it feel like he could actually do it.

听到年轻人指着伊娃的话，那个注意到我的女人点了点头。她还对他提出了警告。

"我在问你是不是个白痴。这是公会的正式要求。如果你要向谁抱怨，就向公会抱怨吧。"

在我们周围，有的女人瞪着眼睛，好像要咬年轻的冒险家一口。也有一些女人与众不同，但我不容易把她们区分开来。

Gray hair, and green eyes… he was of high stature, and of trained body.

（它对女性有反应... 它会影响她们的心理吗？）

也许是被女人的话激怒了，年轻的冒险者冲我们 "咔嚓 "了一下。由于年长的冒险者们仍然保持警惕，他们从人群中分开了。

Evaluating the situation, the Seventh spoke.

评估了一下形势，老七开口了。

『What a troublesome fellow. When he hears he can’t win, he steps down that easily. Erhart, was it? It’s as if a guy like Erhart actually had some skill backing him.』

『真是个麻烦的家伙。他一听说自己赢不了，就那么容易下台。艾哈特，是吗？就像艾哈特这样的人其实也有一些技巧在支撑着他一样。』

As the elder adventurers began walking towards us, the Third spoke.

当年长的冒险者们开始向我们走来时，三世开口了。

『Cartaffs looked fun, doesn’t it? A Queen, and a young, ambitious adventurer… doesn’t it sound exhilarating?』

『卡拉夫斯看起来很有趣，不是吗？一个女王，一个年轻有为的冒险者......听起来是不是很刺激？』

The Fifth painstakingly voiced his opinion.

五世苦口婆心地说出了自己的看法。

『Is that so? Let’s defeat the Land Dragon, and get back safely.』

『是吗？让我们打败陆地龙，安全地回去吧。』

The Fourth to the young adventurer.

老四对年轻的冒险者说。

『I wonder if that guy will raise some trouble. I want a chance for us to have an audience with the Queen. Do you think they’ll become the trigger for us?』

『不知道那家伙会不会找麻烦。我想给我们一个觐见女王的机会。你觉得他们会成为我们的导火索吗？』

And as always, the Seventh let out an anti-adventurer declaration.

七爷一如既往地发出了反冒险家的宣言。

『That sort always brings trouble, but I wonder if it’ll go that far. How about we hunt down the buds of calamity while we still have the chance? That one’s quite dangerous, you know?』

A woman like that was now going through stacks of paperwork.

"我已经有一段时间没有出去了，但是......我的属下不允许。"

她回头看了看引起她兴趣的段落，轻轻地用舌头碰了碰红唇。

Sitting on a splendid sofa, she wore black garb that stuck close to her body. Near her, a long and slender sword leaned against her seat.

“Does logic even work on that lot at the guild? Buy it off, and they could’ve been the first to research it. I did tell them to collect rare specimens, but I didn’t tell them what to do when the specimens were too rare. Do I really have to give another in-depth explanation?”

The woman’s name was 【Ludmila Cartaffs】… Once called the princess knight, she was now called Queen, as a member of Cartaffs’ royalty.

“Still, how interesting. Shall I give a summons to that Trēs Trading Company? And the adventurers that came from Beim… I never thought I’d see the surname Walt come up. How interesting. He may not be of Bahnseim’s Walt house, but how curious.”

But it was also true that everyone supported her in becoming one. As the princess knight, she had earned much support throughout the country, and she was somewhat a symbol of Cartaffs.

这个女人的名字叫【路德米拉-卡塔夫斯】......曾经被称为公主骑士的她，现在作为卡塔夫斯王室的一员，被称为女王。

"公会里那批人的逻辑思维行得通吗？把它买下来，他们可能是第一个研究它的人。我是让他们收集稀有标本，但没告诉他们标本太稀有时该怎么办。我真的有必要再深入解释一下吗？"

… In the Cartaffs’ citadel city’s royal palace, a single woman read through a report.

她猛地只把最后一页扔到一边，走向房间里一张奢侈的办公桌。

“That Larc guy is asking for yet another audience? I told them not to deal with him, but… the one handling the reception was a woman, I see. Then there’s no helping it.”

“Now then, how should I call them out… but first…”

➐

但大家支持她成为一名骑士也是事实。作为公主骑士，她在全国各地赢得了很多支持，她在某种程度上是卡塔夫斯的象征。

满腹牢骚的女人把手伸向旁边的剑。她从剑鞘中抽出剑，看着鲜红的剑身。

『这种人总是会带来麻烦，但我不知道会不会走到那一步。要不，趁现在还有机会，我们去猎杀灾祸之芽？那可是相当危险的，你知道吗？』

转过身躺下，阅读文件的女人一边抚摸着自己波浪式的茄子色长发，一边抬起上半身。

Continuing down the intriguing document, it seems the ones who brought the materials to the Guild were instead a group of adventurers.

Saying that, she got back to work.

坐在椅子上继续工作后，她的嘴角露出了一丝笑意。

在堆积如山的表格面前，柳德米拉捂住了眼睛，并用一只手拂去刘海，以示确认。但当她睁开眼睛时，还是那座山矗立在她面前，一如从前。

Looking back over a passage that caught her interest, she lightly touched her tongue to her red lips.

"除非把它移开，否则一切都不会开始。"

"那个叫拉克的家伙又在求见了？我告诉过他们不要和他打交道，但是......负责接待的是个女人，我明白了。那就没办法了。"

The fed-up woman reached a hand to her sword nearby. Drawing it from its scabbard, she looked at its bright red blade.

她是从前任国王手中暂时继承王位的，并不是正式的王后。

......在卡塔夫城堡的王宫里，一个女人正在阅读一份报告。

她坐在华丽的沙发上，穿着贴身的黑色服装。在她身边，一把细长的剑倚靠在她的座位上。

收刀入鞘，她站了起来，把文件放在桌子上，翻看清单上的最后一项。

Turning to lie down, the woman reading the documents stroked her long, waved, aubergine hair, as she raised the upper half of her body.

"还是那么有趣。要我给那个特里斯贸易公司发个传票吗？还有从贝姆来的冒险者......真没想到，我还能看到沃尔特这个姓氏。真有意思他也许不是巴恩西姆的华特家族的人，但真让人好奇。"

This time, her expression twisted in disdain.

"嗯，真有趣。他们打败了三叉戟大蛇，是吗......我听说 Trēs 贸易公司的船遭到了袭击，但是......"

After sitting in her chair, and resuming her work, a laugh came from her lips.

这一次，她的表情因不屑而扭曲。

说完，她又开始工作。

这样一个女人，现在正在翻阅成堆的文件。

“It’s been a while since I last went outside, but… my subordinates won’t allow it.”

“Nothing will start unless this is out of the way.”

"那么现在，我应该怎样把他们叫出来......不过首先......"

继续往下看这份耐人寻味的文件，似乎把材料带到公会的反而是一群冒险者。

Before the mountain of forms, Ludmila covered her eyes, and brushed away her bangs with one hand to verify it. But when she opened her eyes the same mountain stood before her, just as it had before.

Sheathing it away, she stood, placed the documents on top of her table, and looked through the last item on the list.

She violently tossed only the last page aside, and headed for an extravagant desk in the room.

“Hmm, how interesting. They defeated the Trident Serpent, did they… I heard the Trēs Trading Company’s ship had been attacked, but…”

Having been temporarily left the throne from the previous king, she was not an official Queen.